Judge OKs administration's 'morning-after' pill plan

A federal judge approved Wednesday the Obama administration’s plan to drop its lawsuit over the “morning after pill” and offer a form of emergency contraception over-the-counter without any age restrictions, winding down a controversy that has lasted for a decade.

His acceptance means the Obama administration can move forward with its plan to let the FDA quickly take the steps necessary to get Plan B One-Step available over the counter with no age restrictions. The government promised in a proposal Monday to do so “without delay.” It does require some regulatory drug labeling steps and paperwork from the FDA and the drugmaker but the judge did not see that as an obstacle.

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“This is sufficient to comply with my order,” Judge Edward Korman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York wrote in a memorandum.

Korman’s move marks the end in a long court battle stretching back over to the George W. Bush administration. It has also created some odd alliances.Until the White House stopped fighting the case in the face of legal setbacks, conservative women’s groups had backed the administration in resisting making the medication easily available to young teens. But women’s groups that back more access to contraception and abortion rights opposed President Barack Obama on this particular issue.

Korman, who has been overseeing the case since 2005, appeared to lose patience with the government’s arguments in recent months. In his April order to make all forms of emergency contraception available over the counter, he said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s decision to keep age restrictions of 17 was “politically motivated” and “scientifically unjustified.” Obama had supported Sebelius. Major medical groups, including the leading pediatrics and obstetrics organizations, had favored making the pill available OTC to younger teens, saying preventing pregnancy was the overriding goal.

Korman’s memo came hours after the plaintiffs in the lawsuit had filed court papers saying that the government’s plan didn’t go far enough, fast enough.

In his memo Korman encouraged the government to make generic versions available too, warning that if the FDA grants market exclusivity to Plan B One-Step manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals, it will make for “a near-monopoly that will only result in making a one-pill emergency contraceptive more expensive and thus less accessible to many poor women.”

“We are tremendously gratified that this lawsuit has resulted in an historic victory to bring emergency contraception out from behind the pharmacy counter for millions of women across the United States,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement Wednesday evening.

“We agree with Judge Korman that women deserve the full range of available emergency contraception, including lower cost generic options.

“We will continue our advocacy on all fronts to ensure widespread availability of affordable birth control for all women in the United States and beyond.”